


It’s Pretty Here, But I Bet It’s Prettier Somewhere Else

by Acai



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Can be platonic or romantic, College AU, Comedy, Cute Hinata Shouyou, First Meetings, Fluff, Hinata is a dork, M/M, Meet-Cute, Neighbors, One-Shot, Phone numbers, cheesy flirting, coffee shop AU, energy drinks, mentions of Kuroo - Freeform, they're both literature majors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 15:53:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6760345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acai/pseuds/Acai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was impossible to miss the coffee, too, which probably wouldn’t have been strange if not for the Monster sitting next to it. The boy glanced sideways, catching Kenma’s eyes with his own. The sharp snap of the tab opening the energy drink brought Kenma’s attention back to the boy’s hands. <br/>“I’m going to die,” he said, pouring the entire can of Monster into his coffee. <br/>Kenma brought his gaze back to the screen as the professor walked into the room. “You’ll only die if you drink it.” <br/>//<br/>Or the one where Kenma and Hinata meet in a college class, Hinata probably drinks too much caffeine and they  both manage to end up locked out of their dorm rooms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It’s Pretty Here, But I Bet It’s Prettier Somewhere Else

**Author's Note:**

> I will admit I've never written anything that I didn't tag as 'angst'. So. This is my first non-angsty fic? And the first Haikyuu fic that I've ever posted on here, so let's cheers to that. Don't forget to tell me what you think!

**_"It’s Pretty Here, But I Bet It’s Prettier Somewhere Else."_ **

            “Is it okay if I sit here?”

Kenma shrugged, not bothering to look up at the other boy. “I don’t care.”

Maybe the boy was trying to make a show of seating himself, because he did it noisily. His chair scraped against the ground with noisy protest and the boy dropped his bag onto the floor next to him with an equally loud thud. He was probably the type of person who would tap a pencil on the table the entire time the professor was teaching the lesson. He was probably the type of person who would text the whole time with his phone on so that Kenma could hear the soft _whoosh_ and _ding_ of the conversation. 

“I never come to morning classes, so this is the first time I’ve had a class this early! I usually take the afternoon classes, because I hate getting up early…but I can’t go to the afternoon class today, so here I am!”

He was probably the type of person to talk to you all throughout the lesson like you were already good friends. Kenma probably could have handled texting and tapping, but he was willing to stand up and find a new seat if he was going to be expected to _talk_ to the boy next to him.

“Mm.” Kenma focused his gaze on the screen at the front of the room. The boy leaned over, brushing Kenma’s side as he rummaged through his bag. Kenma drew in a long breath, fighting the urge to frown.

Something metal clinked on the table next to him. _What could he possibly have brought to_ literature _that’s_ metal _?_

Kenma’s eyes tore away from the screen to the can of Monster sitting on the table. If the boy hadn’t been noisy enough already, his hair alone would have made him impossible to miss.

It was impossible to miss the coffee, too, which probably wouldn’t have been strange if not for the Monster. The boy glanced sideways, catching Kenma’s eyes with his own. The sharp snap of the tab opening the energy drink brought Kenma’s attention back to the boy’s hands.

“I’m going to die,” he said, pouring the entire can of Monster into his coffee.

Kenma brought his gaze back to the screen as the professor walked into the room. “You’ll only die if you drink it.”

The screen lit up with a PowerPoint and the professor set his water on his desk.

Kenma’s eyes snapped back to the boy sitting next to him at the sound of chugging, and he’d half-hoped that he’d imagined the sound. He hadn’t, and the idiot really was chugging the drink. He paused, turning to look Kenma in the eyes before finishing the rest of the drink.

“You’re going to die,” Kenma muttered, swearing not to look away from the screen again as he turned back towards the PowerPoint.

“I’m going to die,” the boy agreed, tapping his pencil against the table.

///

If the lesson that had dragged on hadn’t been bad enough, and the assignment hadn’t been bad enough, if the pencil-tapping hadn’t been irritating enough, Kenma hadn’t remembered to grab his key on the way out. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have any way in, either, because his roommate was just _inside_ of the dorm and could have easily unlocked the door. Kenma had a feeling, though, that when his roommate had insisted that he should _get out more_ and _not spend all his time in his dorm,_ this was his way of enforcing that request. _Request…ha._

If Kenma went out and did something, though, he’d just end up locked out of his own dorm more often. He leaned against the door and pulled out his phone. Maybe Kuroo would unlock the door before his phone reached 0%.

From: Kuroo

Subject: [blank]

GO SOMEPLACE!!!!!

 

To: Kuroo

Subject: [blank]

Open the door.

 

From: Kuroo

Subject: [blank]

It can be the library for all I care, just go someplace!!

 

To: Kuroo

Subject: [blank]

You’re going to break first.

 

It was true. All Kenma had to do was sit quietly in the hallway long enough that Kuroo would relent and let him in.

71%.

 

Kenma clicked off his phone as the percentage dwindled over 30%. If he was quiet long enough, would his roommate check to see if he was gone? If he did that, Kenma was willing to take drastic measures to get back inside. People kept passing through his hallway because it was on the first floor, right by the stairs to get to the second floor. If one more person walked past, Kenma was going to kick the door until it broke open. (Of course, then it would be pointless to even go inside.)

Black shoes walked past Kenma, stopping at the door across the hallway. Kenma pulled his phone back out, attempting to make it seem like he’d made the choice to sit in the hallway and play on his phone. The owner of the black shoes swore softly, rummaging through their bag.

The bag dropped onto the floor with a thud and a groan from the owner. “I forgot my _keys._ ”

“Join the club,” Kenma muttered without thinking about it, tapping lazily at the screen.

“Oh! Hey, you sat next to me in English Literature earlier today, right?”

Kenma glanced up at the boy and his shock of bright orange hair. He was holding his coffee cup in one hand, running his other hand through his unforgettable hair.

It was probably saying something that Kenma hadn’t even recognized the boy, when he lived right across the hall in their dorm building. “Mm. Yeah.”

“Ugh, my roommate isn’t going to be back for another two hours…”

“My roommate is inside.” Kenma muttered, assuring himself that he wasn’t the slightest bit bitter over such a thing.

“Can’t he just let you in?” The boy’s leg was bouncing and his hand was tapping on his pants leg. He could probably run a lap or ten without even breaking a sweat with the amount of caffeine in his system.

From: Kuroo

Subject: [blank]

If you go someplace I’ll let you in from now on…??

 

To: Kuroo

Subject: [blank]

Bribery isn’t going to work. Let me in.

 

“Can. Won’t.” Kenma clicked off his phone, standing up. “Do you need to be someplace?”

“Not that I know of!” The boy’s hand was still tapping at his leg a million miles per second. Did he always drink that mixture? He probably didn’t need it. He’d been hyper since the moment that he walked in.

Kenma slid his phone into his back pocket, glancing back at the boy. “Then let’s go someplace.”

He looked startled for a minute and raised an eyebrow at Kenma. “That was sudden—where do you want to go?”

“Really?” Kenma slid his eyes away from the other’s. “You don’t even know my name and you’re going to just up and leave with a stranger because I _asked._ ”

“Don’t ask me and then criticize me for answering!” Hinata huffed, and then nodded. “But yeah, I guess. I want coffee and I hate going alone.”

“You want _coffee._ ” Kenma muttered, turning and walking back towards the entrance of the dorm building.

“Yeah, I want coffee! I finished my other cup like an _hour_ ago.”

“Are you going to pour Monster into that, too? You’ve still got another few hours before it kills you.”

The other boy waved Kenma’s comment off, still grinning. “It hasn’t killed me yet! But no, just coffee this time. Is that a yes?”

“How was that a yes?” It was a yes.

Hinata didn’t reply, but bounded forward like he was trying to shake off some of his excess energy from the drink. “There’s a coffee shop a few blocks away that I like! They have a lot of weird drinks that nobody else makes, but they’re not bad. I like their hot chocolate, too… My name’s Hinata, by the way.”

“Huh?”

“Hinata, that’s my name. Because it’s kind of odd going someplace with someone when you don’t know their name!” Everything that Hinata said was enthusiastic, and if he were a book the title would have had one too many exclamation points.

“….Kozume.”

“Well, Kozume-chan—!”

“Just Kozume is fine.”

“Well, Just-Kozume, I might just start coming to morning classes more often!”

/////

“They spelled your name wrong,” Hinata said, plucking the cup out of Kenma’s hands.

“No they didn’t,” Kenma muttered, watching Hinata rummage around his backpack for something. What _didn’t_ he have in that bag, honestly? “How would you even know, anyway?”

“I just do!” Hinata practically sang it, pulling out a Sharpie. He scribbled out Kenma’s name, writing something else instead. When he handed the green tea back to Kenma, Kenma didn’t bother glancing at whatever it was that he’d written. He half expected Hinata to look disappointed or tell him to, but Hinata just grinned and dropped the Sharpie into his bag.

“You’re going to lose things if you just throw them in there.” Kenma set his cup down, glancing out the window of the coffee shop. Hinata was right about the odd drinks, but Kenma had a feeling he would probably be here again.

Hinata waved his comment off, picking up his own coffee and taking a long drink from it.

“And you’re going to die from the inane amounts of coffee you drink…”

Hinata waved it off again. “I’ll be fine! I already lose everything anyway—,”

“Then _organize it._ ”

“And I like coffee, so it’s fine!”

“…that’s not very good logic.” Kenma watched Hinata pull out his phone and frown, clicking it off again before glancing back up at Kenma.

“I hate to go—I have another class soon. But, hey! Call me! We can get coffee again sometime. I told you, I hate going here alone.”

And Hinata gathered up his coffee, throwing his bag over his shoulder and shoving his phone in his back pocket. He waved good-bye to Kenma as he scurried towards the door.

“How am I supposed to call you if I don’t have your number?” Kenma frowned, pointing out the flaw in logic. Hinata paused to turn around and grin again before scurrying out of the coffee shop.

Well, they’d see each other again. Kenma would point out the flawed logic more stubbornly next time they got coffee.

_Next time they got coffee…?_ Was he planning on there being a next time?

He glanced down at his tea, pushing back his chair and standing up to leave. They’d spelled his name right the first time they’d written it. Hinata had scribbled it out and left his phone number in its place.

////

 

**Author's Note:**

> Go ahead and tell me what you thought in the comments below and leave a kudos if you liked it! My beta and translator are both away, so if anyone wants to volunteer themselves for either task, I'm not saying no. If you'd like to contact me with a prompt or anything, I'll put my media below. Thank you all!   
> Tumblr: Mikozume  
> Kik: fnwilliams16   
> Wattpad: Mikozume  
> ((I prefer Tumblr~))


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